The rise of real money poker sites has been massive in Canada. Whether it’s more and more people playing on the streets of Toronto or Montreal – there’s been a surge in participation. Poker can be viewed in a similar way to sports in many ways – the majority of us are never going to be pro, but if you want to start playing for money and for fun, I suggest that you look at the real money poker sites listed here before any others.
When it comes to the big-money pro scene, Canada has some serious talent to contend with the rest of the world, so let’s take a look at the biggest names and their achievements.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is not only a Canadian poker hero but an international success story. He ranks among the top five all-time money list with a reported $50m already won at the poker table during his career. He’s continuously performed at the top end of international tournaments. Negreanu has truly cracked America having won his biggest prizes in places like Las Vegas with his most profitable session being at WSOP 2014 where he cashed a cool $8.2m from coming second in the entire competition. His six bracelets have not only made him very rich but a revered figure in poker – currently the most successful Canadian poker player in terms of money won.
Timothy Adams
Often seen online as Tim0thee, Timothy Adams sits in the all-time top 20 poker players when considering the amount of money won. As such the man from Burlington, Ontario commands a fair bit of popularity. He won his first (and only to date) bracelet back in 2012 at the WSOP event in Las Vegas – where he also earned $400,000. That was far from his biggest win, however. He’s been known to participate in the high-roller Triton events having the Super High Roller series contest in Jeju, South Korea and more recently the event held in London.
Sam Greenwood
Another player sitting inside the all-time top 20 poker players is Sam Greenwood (not to be confused with the soccer player by the same name). Greenwood’s biggest wins read like a well-stamped passport with a rich tapestry of destinations he’s visited. His journey started online back in 2006 but soon found himself invited to play in live games within two years. Greenwood won his first WSOP bracelet at the 2015 event but has participated in events in many far-flung destinations. This includes winning tournaments in the Dominican Republic, Monte Carlo and the Czech Republic.
Daniel Dvoress
Born in the Soviet Union in 1988, Daniel Dvoress and his parents emigrated to Canada when he was aged eight and has called the country home ever since. He is known to be one of the more media-shy poker players and infamously doesn’t like the bright lights of Las Vegas, often preferring to just play poker rather than associate with the connotations around the game. As such, his biggest wins have come outside the US and traditional poker destinations. His most bountiful outing came at the 2019 partypoker MILLIONS event in the Bahamas where he banked just over $4m. He’s also done exceptionally well in places like Spain, Montenegro and Malta.
Kristen Foxen
Regularly seen online as krissyb24 or krissy24, Kristen Bicknell (previously Foxen) is one of the most successful women in poker of all time. The 36-year-old was born in St. Catherines, Ontario but now resides in Las Vegas. While she now participates in predominantly online events, she did enjoy an extensive travel schedule in the past having won lots of money in events held in Macau, Australia and Cyprus. Despite winning three WSOP bracelets, Kristen fell out with the organisation at one point as she adopted an anti-vaccination stance amid the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning that she could not participate in the tour.
Xuan Liu
Xuan Liu was born in Tianjin, China but moved to Canada to study social development studies and political science. It was there at Waterloo University that she started to play poker recreationally until she realized that she was pretty good at it. Opting to represent Canada, she won over C$4800 in 2007 and has continued to plug away at her career ever since, while she also gives talks on poker. Liu has made it a mission of hers to play around the world having featured on multiple tours like the WPT, the European Tour and even the Asian-Pacific circuit. However, her biggest career win came in the Caribbean where she banked a cool $600,000 at a PokerStars event.
Image Credit: Pixabay
